Apple Inc. plans to ratchet up its advertising business, putting it squarely on a collision course with social-media giants while significantly jacking up revenue.
The iPhone maker is considering the addition of ads to Apple Maps, and is “likely” to insert ads into digital stores for Podcasts and Books, according to a Bloomberg report. Apple
AAPL,
already displays ads in Apple News and Stocks, and intends to expand ads in the App Store.
The company, which hauled in about $4 billion in annual revenue from its ad business, wants the segment to hit “double digits,” according to the report. During Apple’s earnings call last month, Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company’s ads business is a “great” discovery tool for app developers who want to promote their apps. [Earlier this year, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi postulated Apple could generate $10 billion in incremental revenue selling ads on iOS apps.]
Apple was not immediately available for comment on the Bloomberg report.
Apple’s aggressive push into becoming the next big online advertising player is laced with irony.
Last year the company imposed a new privacy feature, App Tracking Transparency, which gives iPhone users the option to allow apps that target them for ads. Apple made the move to protect consumers and tout its bona fides as a privacy-first company, as compared with rival social-media giants beholden to targeted advertising. Indeed, Apple has emphasized privacy in an escalating war of words with antagonist Meta Platforms Inc.
Facebook’s parent company
META,
Snap Inc.
SNAP,
and Twitter Inc.
TWTR,
have all cited ATT as a factor in reduced ad revenue. Meta said in February that ATT would decrease its 2022 sales by about $10 billion.
